Life wasn't always kind to Jackie. In middle school, the building was struck by lightning, and it caused a power outage that made her lose all the work on her essay. In high school, she was bullied, robbed, and at one point one of her teachers even tried to rape her. Her mother treated her like a joke. The only person that she truly loved was her father. In her senior year, however, Jackie's luck takes a major turn. It's up to fate to decide whether for better or worse.
Jackie walks through the hallway of her high school. Only a few more weeks of this bullshit, and then I can be gone from here forever. As she passes, a group of girls throw a carton of milk at her, ruining her hair. She ignores their laughs at goes into the bathroom to clean it off.
She looks in the mirror and splashes water on her face. "...I can't... take it anymore!" She is on the verge of tears. She runs out of the school, completely forgetting about class, and runs into the landscapes of the Nevadan desert, collapsing and crying after running for who knows how long. She lays and sobs to herself. All I have to do is survive one more year. One!
As she cries on the ground, something inside of her ignites. She can't tell if it's her soul or something else. Suddenly, everything ceases to move. Time freezes in place, birds suspended midair. What? What's going on? A figure shrouded in darkness approaches her, its visage seemingly impossible, constantly shifting and collapsing into itself.
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.
"Greetings, Jackie," it says. "Your plight has not gone unnoticed. I am Demos, the god of sufferance."
"This... can't be real. Did that milk have drugs in it?"
"No. Your fierce determination and faith have caught my eye. I have given you a gift to reflect this. Use it to change the world." The figure vanishes instantaneously and time resumes its flow. Am I tripping?
Jackie stands up, her face still red with the streaks of hot tears, and looks around. I must be hallucinating from the heat. What a wake-up call, though. If I keep whining, nothing will get done. Shit! I'm late for class. As Jackie runs back to the school, her boots leave singe marks on the ground.
----------------------------------------
The armored man stands in front of the pulsating, dark blue sphere. It festers and writhes with agony and longing. He touches the sphere gently. "Shh, master. Soon, oh so very soon, you will be whole once more. I am close, now; I can sense it. The intricate hum of the Warp tells me so. We have but one more mission we must undertake."